Archive for August, 2007

Thank You!

Published
by
Larry
on August 28, 2007
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FROM: LARRY AND SHARON PEABODY

Thank you! Those words don’t seem strong enough to carry the gratitude in our hearts for the sendoff you, our church family, gifted us with this past Saturday evening.

Your encouraging comments lifted our spirits—and at the same time reminded us that the credit for whatever may have been accomplished goes to the God who makes things grow.

That wonderful scrapbook full of pictures, memories and expressions of your love will remain among our most cherished possessions.

Your generosity in the overwhelming total of cash gifts was spectacular. Some of that will go to replace the furniture in our new dining room with pieces more suitable to the size of the room. We plan, as well, to spend some of it on a computer to replace our six-year-old machine.

A very special thanks to those who worked so hard to prepare for our retirement party—Cheri and Byron Brown, Diane and Tim Audorff, Mary Languell, Martha Gilbert, the Deacons and Deaconesses, our young people who served—and others.

As you know, the party was not a farewell. At the right time, we hope to return as members of the NAC family and to serve alongside you who have become so dear to us.

In the meantime, we urge you to welcome Pierre, Maru and their boys with open arms. God’s hand was clearly at work in their coming to NAC. So give them your full support and love, remembering how difficult it is to relocate into a community full of new faces.

On Saturday, we embark from Seattle on the Golden Princess for a cruise up the inside passage to Alaska. We’ll be stopping in Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan and Victoria. The ship will return us to Seattle early in the morning on the next Saturday, July 8.

Thank you for the best 21 years of our lives—and again for all your expressions of love!

Transition

Published
by
Larry
on August 19, 2007
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Within the past few days and weeks, I’ve heard questions like these from some in our church family: “After you retire, will we still . . . ?” Or, “When Pierre comes, will he . . . ?”

And my answers to such questions always run along this line: “I simply don’t know whether . . . .” In responding like that, I’m not trying to dodge the questions. Instead, many details are impossible to know in a time of transition.

Transition. Webster’s defines it as “passage from one state, stage, subject, or place to another.” One online dictionary definition calls it “an event that results in a transformation.” However you define it, transition always involves change.

But however much our natural selves may resist it, change will come. In fact, our creative God loves to do things in new, fresh ways. Take, for example, the Israelites. Centuries before, they had been slaves in Egypt. Now they were captives in Babylon. God had delivered them from their Egyptian slave drivers. Would he deliver them in the same way from their Babylonian masters? Could they count on God to do the same-old, same-old once again?

No—apparently not. Here’s part of the message God sent them through the prophet Isaiah: “. . . don’t remember what happened in earlier times. Don’t think about what happened a long time ago, because I am doing something new! Now you will grow like a new plant” (Isaiah 43:18, 19a, Easy-to-Read Translation).

What made it possible for them—and what makes it possible for us—to face change without being crippled by anxiety? Trust. Trust in the God who promises never to leave us. Just a bit earlier in the same chapter of Isaiah, God had said this to the fearful Israelites: “Don’t be afraid. I saved you. I named you. You are mine. When you have troubles, I am with you. When you cross rivers, you will not be hurt. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not hurt you. That’s because I, the LORD, am your God. I, the Holy One of Israel, am your Savior. . . . You are precious to me, and I have given you a special place of honor. I love you” (verses 1-4).

The writer of Hebrews assures us that we Christians can have the same confidence: “God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’ So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me’” (Heb. 13:5-6).

In this time of transition, remember the words from Stuart Hamblen’s song, Known Only to Him: “I know not what the future holds, but I know Who holds the future.” Let’s trust in the only Who who can carry us safely through the unknown what.

Fellowship as Followers

Published
by
Larry
on August 5, 2007
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What common ground serves as the basis of our fellowship as followers of Jesus? An encounter this past week prompted me to spend some time reflecting on this question once again.

Some Christians seem to base their fellowship on their understanding of certain doctrines. For them, it works like this: If I answer a question about the faith and you answer it in the same way, then we can walk and work together in the same church. But if you see the issue differently than I do, then we’d better find separate churches.

The Bible is clear about many core teachings—such as salvation by faith in Christ and his finished work, Jesus’ bodily resurrection and the fact that Jesus Christ is the God-Man. But there are other areas in which the Bible does not answer all the questions we might want to ask. For example, when will the “rapture” of the church occur? (The “rapture” is when Christians meet the Lord in the air.) Some say it will happen before the tribulation. Some say it will happen midway through the tribulation. And others say it will happen after the tribulation. You can find sincere, fruit-bearing Christians on all three sides of that issue.

It’s right and good to do our best to understand what God has revealed about such questions. At the same time, though, we need to remember—with Paul—that during this earthly life, “we know in part” (I Cor. 13:9). Even our best knowledge of a subject is only partial. And that’s okay. Even Paul, a man God used to write a major part of our New Testament, included himself among the partial knowers.

The problem comes when we begin to make our interpretation of debatable issues the litmus test for fellowship with others. When we do that, we divide the body of Christ, doing what Scripture itself clearly warns us not to do.

Can you imagine Jesus, in the last day, rejecting someone because they didn’t have quite the right take on the timing of his return for the church? No way! Our salvation hinges on our trusting relationship with Jesus—not on the way we understand Scripture on this or that secondary issue.

If Jesus is willing to spend eternity with people whose understanding is less-than-perfect, who are we to refuse to fellowship with them here on earth?